<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>After the fire by CureIcy</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24707035">After the fire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CureIcy/pseuds/CureIcy'>CureIcy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bow is best hugger in bright moon, Epilogue, F/F, F/M, Perfuma is a gay with a type, Shadow Weaver is dead but we don't mourn her in this house, Trans Perfuma (She-Ra), kiddos working out their issues, perfuma is a therapist in more ways than one, pre-space road trip</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 07:15:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24707035</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CureIcy/pseuds/CureIcy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of character snippets, regarding how they're moving forward post-finale.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra &amp; Perfuma (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>After the fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Just another possibility, an idea of what might happen next. I think it’s what Noelle wanted when she left the epilogue to our collective imaginations.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Horde Prime may be defeated, but that’s not the end. It never is, but every day brings new challenges and new ways to rebuild their world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta has taken on the job of rehabilitating the clones, letting each of them choose names and showing them that their imperfections are beautiful. There’s no better person for the job-- Entrapta’s understanding of socially acceptable behaviors is learned rather than intuitive, so she’s uniquely qualified to teach them, and she’s long since learned to accept her own quirks and the quirks of others. She still struggles to figure out empathy, but Scorpia has talked to her about the importance of communication, and for the most part she’s working it out. Entrapta is happy, truly happy, and she’s delighted to have Hordak by her side through it all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others may not fully trust Hordak, but they’re gradually warming up to him. Even Catra has a grudging respect for him, since he managed to scrape up some form of individuality from the cult-like environment of Prime’s reign. Hordak, for his part, has given up on the idea of gaining Prime’s validation, and spends most of his days meditating or sitting with Entrapta as she tinkers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lab partners. That’s what they call themselves. But something new is growing, something beautiful, and Hordak lets it happen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra and Adora are still figuring out their relationship. They may have finally confessed to each other, but they’ve got a long way to go, and neither will fully recover from the effects of Shadow Weaver’s abuse any time soon. Adora is still self-sacrificing, sometimes not even mentioning she has problems or even that Catra is the cause of them, and Catra struggles to control her anger and express it in healthy ways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fortunately, they’re not alone. Catra has meditation sessions with Perfuma, and after one where she complains that she feels like Perfuma is condescending, the princess confesses that she was once as angry as Catra. She once badly injured someone with her powers, and the shock of it drove her to pacifism until she realized there could be a balance. And that’s what they find together: balance. Catra learns how to relate to others, how to show compassion, and takes up flower arranging as a way to unwind. Perfuma confesses she had a bit of a crush on She-ra for a while-- she’s a girl with a definite Type, and her type is women with massive biceps made for giving hugs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re with Scorpia now, right?” Catra asks, as she’s making a bouquet for Adora.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I am!” Perfuma replies happily. She grows another tendril of ivy, then gently shifts it a few inches to the left where it’ll have more sunlight. “It’s not really something I saw coming, but she’s wonderful! I’ve been helping her rebuild the fright zone, you know. It’s reclaimed by nature at the moment, but I think that by gently encouraging nature to work side by side with the residents, it can become a place of healing and life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two will be good for each other.” Catra slices off a leaf by accident, and hisses in frustration. A deep breath later, she continues, more calmly, “Scorpia’s an amazing person. She deserves good things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two used to be friends, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes, and no. Catra knows she was a toxic person, and as much as she sometimes blames Shadow Weaver for making her into the hurtful mess she is— was, whatever— she also blames and hates herself for what she did. It’s a painful cycle, and she’s breaking out of it piece by piece, truth by truth. “It’s complicated.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be honest...” Perfuma bites her lip, the way she always does when delivering hard truths. “You weren’t a very good friend to her. I think it’s good that Scorpia recognized that, but she’s also told me that she wants to give it another try now that you're trying to be a nicer person.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if I screw it up again?” Catra moves a stem to the left, then back where it was. “I mean, she gave me a hug and called me wildcat, but what if she was just being polite?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sound like me!” Perfuma says, fixing the leaf Catra broke with a flick of her fingers. “For a while, I was wondering if Scorpia really liked girls, or if she was just being nice. Even when she came over and asked me how to make a fruit salad and we spent an entire weekend together. Ugh, we’re so oblivious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi pot, I’m kettle,” Catra says, smoothly extending a hand. “I didn’t confess to Adora until the world was about to end, because she risked everything to save me from Horde Prime and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> thought she didn’t want me like I wanted her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma laughs, high and clear, and Catra thinks it’s going to be okay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Since she was young, Adora was taught that the highest honor was to die for the Horde. When she grew older, she amended that to dying for her friends, but the idea of dying for someone has always been there, pervasive, so omnipresent that she didn’t realize it was invading her. Not until Mara told her it was okay to </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>someone, and to let herself be loved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, Adora is learning to live for her friends, and for her girlfriend. It’s a struggle sometimes, but with little gestures of affection, the two are breaking through their barriers. Catra makes her flower arrangements and explains the meaning of each flower, eyes shining in the way they only do when she really enjoys something, and Adora savors every word. She wonders what she can make in return, and passes through several hobbies before deciding that she’s just going to show Catra affection through time spent together, and through cuddling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora didn’t win second place in Bright Moon’s hugging competition for nothing, and she’s going to put those skills to good use. Catra blushes furiously at tender hand holding to begin with, and Adora asks if it’s okay, but Catra assures her that it is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s...hard,” she confesses, one hand grasping her other arm. “I know I lash out at affection. I’ve been working on that with Perfuma. But I want to be near you. It’s just hard when you’re so sappy and-- you’re so genuine, okay? You’ve always been so straight-laced, I can’t brush off any of your flirting as teasing, and it’s terrifying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, what would help?” Adora asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe if I initiated some of it?” Catra reaches slowly, tentatively for Adora’s face. “Is that okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She has to stand on her tiptoes to kiss Adora, her tail twining around the two of them. Catra closes her eyes, and slowly Adora’s arms wrap around her, but strangely enough, she doesn’t feel like running. She feels safe, and from that safety a deep rumble begins in her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>purring</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Adora asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hush, you’re ruining the moment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mermista and Sea Hawk set a boat on fire at their engagement party, surprising no one. Mermista thinks she sees Double Trouble attending, but they slip away before she can be certain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whatever. If they’re invested in her relationship drama (and let’s be real, anything with Sea Hawk is bound to have mountains of drama) then it’s fine. Who knows where the shapeshifter’s real loyalties lie? Maybe they’re bored, or lonely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or maybe they’re just chaotic and above such petty things.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hardest part of having her father back is the fact that Glimmer is stuck somewhere between childhood and adulthood. She’s in her late teens, and yet she’s already taken on the role of leader, and just as she was growing accustomed to the responsibility of it, she no longer needs to do it alone. The law dictates that she now share the responsibility with her father, and between the two of them, she thinks they do a good job.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But while they may be the rulers of Bright Moon, they are also a father and daughter, estranged by the many years. More often than not, he reacts to things with a sort of bemused expression. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’ve learned sorcery? Light Spinner was one of your number? She became so corrupted? You went to your first Princess Prom...and I missed it?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>At this last one, Glimmer decides she’s going to host a celebratory ball for the win against Horde Prime. Micah tries to give Bow a stern shovel talk, but somehow ends up crying instead, and the three of them spend most of the dance lounging by the food table and catching up. Adora and Catra debate over what they should wear until Catra steals Adora’s dress and Adora has to go in Catra’s tux.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Crop top buddies!” Bow cheerfully declares when he sees Adora. Adora opens her mouth to explain that it wasn’t by choice, then decides against it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Scorpia is delighted to have a dance that she doesn’t sabotage, and does her best to make friends. She’s a princess who has been largely estranged from her heritage, and delights in learning how the other princesses rule their kingdoms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The clones, of course, are confused by the dance, but make the best of it. A few even realize that they prefer dancing the female steps, or gaze at the women’s dresses with jealousy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wonder if any of them are like me,” Perfuma wonders to herself, quietly watching them navigate the blurred lines of gender. She sees the signs occasionally; an admiration for the opposite sex that goes beyond attraction and into envy, an ease slipping into female roles, the constant second guessing. She can’t say for sure, but it certainly looks like it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thinks she needs to have a talk with Entrapta sometime about educating the clones on transgender issues. If they’re going to find their true identity, then they need to understand gender identity as well. When she sees Hordak in an evening gown, she makes up her mind. She’s been much happier since she realized she was a girl and started living her life that way, and she thinks she could be a role model, a protector for these young, innocent souls who have only just escaped an environment of fear and hate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she’s ready to fight for her little siblings if need be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Micah has been quiet since the ball. Glimmer sees him rushing off to Mystacor more often, poring over ancient volumes in the library. She feels petty and needy for wanting his attention, but she just got her dad back after all these years. She’s missed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she asks him what he’s doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Micah shuts the heavy tome, and she sees it’s on interdimensional travel. The stable sort, that takes years of study and intricate setups and made her head hurt when Shadow Weaver tried to teach her just the theory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to find a way to bring your mother back, Glimmer. And we can be a family again, like before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d like that,” Glimmer says, her voice choked as she rubs tears away from her eyes. She hasn’t let herself really cry as often since becoming queen, but seeing Micah here reminds her that she is still a daughter, she’s still a child, she’s still </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> child and Angella’s child and as much as she loves her friends, she wants her family back too. She wants it all, because maybe she’s selfish but she misses it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just like she’s missed her dad’s hugs. She’s taller than last time, and he’s much older and worn away by his time on Beast Island, but they’re a little family once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone comes to see them off for their journey. Entrapta promises to build another ship, one for herself and Hordak, to come to space and teach disaffected clones the world over. Catra doesn’t meet Hordak’s eyes, but she does say, rather gruffly, “Nice hair.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You as well, Catra.” He gives her a nod, and apparently that’s all that needs to be said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta is rushing around and making her final checks— she’s invented a line of probes known as Daisies, because of something about daisy chaining the wiring? No one else is quite sure what they mean, but Perfuma makes a flower crown of literal daisies for Entrapta and smiles, and Catra keeps her claws retracted the whole time Scorpia hugs her. Adora hugs everyone goodbye, then hugs them all again— she’s a very good hugger, to be fair— and Swift Wind makes her promise to call every day. Micah hugs Glimmer tight and gifts her a pair of books on the fundamentals of magic. The Daisies swirl around; Daisy May extends several antennae, Daisy Claire and Daisy Anne both film, while Daisy Banks scans the ship for any irregularities that might inhibit its journey.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, when every goodbye is said, the sun is setting, and Entrapta gives the go ahead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go make friends in space!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And they will.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Perfuma is the trans big sister everyone needs. Also, Hordak seems to be some variation of nonbinary or at least GNC if you watch carefully, which I shall take as evidence that clones can be trans and some of them, in fact, are.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>